Guidelines for Faculty Recruitment

GUIDELINES FOR FACULTY RECRUITMENT

These guidelines are offered in order to make the faculty recruitment process comfortable and productive for all participants, and to insure that university personnel do not inadvertently violate federal guidelines involvingprivacyand avoidanceof discrimination. Thisdocument is designed for recruitment offull-time faculty members, but the sections dealing with legal issues apply to recruitment of part-time instructors as well. Since the VPAA has ultimate responsibility for faculty recruitment, questions about any stage in the following guidelines should be addressed to him/her.

Announcement of Position and Initial Screening of Applications

a. Positions approved for recruitment will be determined by the process endorsed by the Faculty Assembly in Fall, 1997.

b. When a new faculty position has been approved, the VPAA confers with the appropriate school dean and department chair before naming a search committee. In addition to the persons just named, the committee normally consists of two or three additional persons from the department involved or from related departments.

c. The screening committee develops a job description, a time table with deadline for receiving applications, and an announcement to be posted in/on venues such as the Chronicle of Higher Education, professional association websites, and professional journals. The position must also be advertised in avenues aimed at underrepresented populations. Frequently, position announcements also are sent to some graduate schools, to ensure a wider candidate pool. Potential candidates are requested to send aletter of application inwhich they state their philosophy of education; a resume; letters of reference; and other pertinent materials, including a diversity statement. Members of the committee review applications as they arrive. It also is customary to post the announcement on the Virginia Wesleyan home page.

d. As applications arrive, files are created in the Academic Affairs office and members of the screening committee are encouraged to review applications on a regular basis. It is important that no evaluative comments be written on the application materials, but separate note taking by screening committee members is encouraged so that candidate credentials will not blur with one another during subsequent meetings of the screeningcommittee.

e. Once the published deadline for receiving applications has passed, the VPAA calls a meeting of the committee for the purpose of a final screening in which the top candidates are identified. The screening process will include a consideration of professional experience and the candidates’ ability to teach and mentor students from diverse populations. A short list of 510 individuals will be identified for phone or video interviews. Short lists must include at least one candidate from an underrepresented population. Normally the top three candidates are invited to the University for interviews which take from one to one and one-half days. Included in the interview process are those faculty members whose teaching fields are in some way related to that of the candidate, the four school deans, the president, the VPAA, and a representative group of students. Faculty members and students who have a particular interest in a given position may ask to be included in the interview process. The object is to allow those who participate in the interviews to have free exchanges with the candidates and to give the candidates a full understanding of the position and a strong "feel" for the nature of the University.

a. Once the screening committee has identified a short list of persons to be invited for campus interviews,theAcademic Affairsofficewillcontactthecandidatestoextendtheinvitationand coordinatetravel arrangements. The goal will be to allow enough time for reasonable airline fares to apply, to enable candidates to work around teaching or other commitments, and to avoid having two candidates on campus at once, if possible. The Academic Affairs office will arrange for lodgings once candidate schedules are confirmed.

b. Academic Affairs will coordinate a schedule of interviews and related activities, including details as to who will meet candidates at airports, hotels,etc.

c. In order to maintain budget accountability, arrangements for entertainment of candidates, including participation by persons other than those on the interview schedule, must be approved by the VPAA.

d. Prior to participation in interviews, members of the university community should review the application materials in the Academic Affairs office for a given candidate. Again, no evaluative comments are to be written on theapplication materials. Interviewers also must read the materials on basic interviewing techniques which are provided by our Human Resources office and can be found in the Supervisor’s Handbook on the Human Resources website under faculty and staff information.

The Interview Process

a. The purpose of on-campus interviews is to gain insights about a candidate’s qualifications which cannot be ascertained or appreciated through written materials or even telephone and video conversations. Areas of legitimate concern would include the nature of one’s academic preparation, the value of relevant prior teaching experience, and the candidate’s level of appreciation for the kind of school and teaching/professional environment Virginia Wesleyan represents. Again, it is important to be familiar with the guidelines on appropriate questions as provided by the Human Resources office.

b. At the end of an interview session, interviewers should be sure to offer to escort the candidate to his/her next appointment.

c. All interviewers are asked to submit a written evaluation of each candidate to the screening committee within 24 hours of the interview. The evaluations may be left in the Academic Affairs office.

d. Interviewers involved in providing some form of hospitality (at meals, during transit from motel to campus, on campus or community tours, etc.) are reminded that the same guidelines for appropriate questioning apply as for formal interviews.

e. During the interview process, it is the responsibility of the VPAA to discuss with the candidate such personnel issues as salary ranges and benefits.

The Final Selection Process

a. The screening committee should meet as soon as possible after the final candidate’s visit. At that meeting the written evaluations of all interviewers are read and discussed. If

comments by non- interviewers (faculty spouses, other faculty, etc.) are to be considered, those comments also should be in writing. An open and frank discussion is appropriate at this stage. If no one of the three interviewed candidates is deemed appropriate, the screening committee may consider inviting one or more additional applicants to the campus to be interviewed. The need for such action should be weighed against resources available in the recruitment budget, but the ultimate goal is to select strong candidates who are likely to become valued, long-term colleagues.

b. Once a candidate is selected, the VPAA will telephone the candidate to extend an offer of employment. Screening committee members should not discuss the results of their decision until a candidate has accepted an offer of employment. The VPAA will notify all other applicants of the final outcome of the selection process.